FRAMELESS HALF-ROUND TRAILER WITH BUTT JOINTS
A frameless dump trailer is provided. The frameless dump trailer includes a forward body portion and a rear body portion. Each body portion is formed from two or more panels joined together with butt-joint welds. The forward portion is first formed by welding planar sections together. After the body portion is formed from the plurality of planar panels, the larger planar portion is rolled in a rolling system to define the arcuate shape of trailer body. Then, the forward and rear body portions are welding together with a transversely extending butt-weld.
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This application is a divisional application of U. S. application Ser. No. 15/481,655, filed on Apr. 7, 2017; the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND Technical FieldThe present disclosure relates generally to frameless dump trailers. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a frameless dump trailer formed from planar sections butt welded together.
Background InformationFrameless dump trailers are known to carry bulk materials when towed by a towing vehicle. Typically, the frameless dump trailers include a lifting system (often hydraulically operated) to tilt/raise the trailer in order the dump the bulk materials carried thereby.
A trailer body on the conventional frameless dump trailer is fabricated from metallic sections of arcuate panels welded together at overlapping lap joints. Lap joints are utilized because the panel sections are rolled prior to connecting them together. When the arcuate panels are joined together, the inner surface and the outer surface of the trailer body is not flush across the lap joint union. Rather, a step-wise relationship is formed in both the outer surface and the inner surface.
SUMMARYIssues continue to exist with current frameless trailers and their method of assembly. Namely, it is desirable to provide a flush alignment of surfaces across joined panels that collectively form the trailer body. The present disclosure addresses these and other issues.
In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a frameless dump trailer comprising: a forward end spaced from a rear end defining a longitudinal direction there between, and a first side opposite a second side defining a transverse direction there between; a forward trailer body portion defining the forward end and a rear trailer body portion defining the rear end; and wherein the forward trailer body portion is formed from a plurality of forward planar panels butt welded together side-by-side at forward longitudinal unions and then rolled into an arcuate configuration.
In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a half-round dump trailer comprising: a forward end spaced apart from a rear end defining a longitudinal direction therebetween, a first side opposite a second side defining a transverse direction therebetween; a trailer body formed from a plurality of arcuate plates welded together at butt seams collectively defining an outwardly and downwardly facing convex outer surface on the trailer body and defining an inwardly and upwardly facing concave inner surface on the trailer body adapted to retain bulk materials; a longitudinally extending bottom butt welded seam between transversely adjoining arcuate plates, wherein the bottom butt welded seam extends from the forward end to the rear end and defines the lowermost portion of the concave inner surface on the trailer body; and a trolley supporting the trailer body from below adjacent the rear end.
In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a method of forming a frameless dump trailer comprising the steps of: providing a first planar plate and a second planar plate; abutting the first and second planar plates and aligning flushly at least one surface surfaces on the first and second planar plates; welding the first and second planar plates at a first butt weld to establish a larger planar trailer body portion; and after welding the first and second planar plates together with the first butt weld, then rolling the larger planar first trailer body portion to establish an arcuate body portion.
In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a frameless dump trailer. The frameless dump trailer includes a forward body portion and a rear body portion. Each body portion is formed from two or more panels joined together with butt joint welds. The forward portion is first formed by welding planar sections together. After the body portion is formed from the plurality of planar panels, the larger planar portion is rolled in a rolling system to define the arcuate shape of trailer body. Then, the forward and rear body portions are welded together with a transversely extending butt weld.
A sample embodiment of the disclosure is set forth in the following description, is shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are fully incorporated herein and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various examples, methods, and other example embodiments of various aspects of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that in some examples one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. In some examples, an element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.
Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONAs depicted in
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With continued reference to
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Trailer 20 further includes a forward end 32 and opposite a rear end 34 defining a longitudinal direction therebetween. Further, a first side 36 (
The trailer body 22 includes a forward portion 40 and a rear portion 42. Forward portion 40 is associated with the forward end 32 of the trailer and the rear portion 42 is associated with the rear end 34 of the trailer 20.The trailer body 22 includes a convex outer surface 44 spaced opposite a concave inner surface 46 (
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With continued reference to
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With continued reference to the unions 74, 76, 116, and 118, in accordance with respect to the present disclosure, each of these unions is a butt joint formed from two adjoining plates abutted together and welded in place. The respective butt joints are formed by fabricating the trailer body in planar sections and welding them together to create larger planar panels. As will be described greater detail below, after the butt joint unions have been formed, the collective planar panel is then rolled to give the trailer body its arcuate shape. This is in stark contrast to the conventional half-round dump trailer 1 (FIG.1; Prior Art) which is fabricated by first rolling its panel sections and then welding them together which requires welded lap joints of overlapping sections of material. The butt joints formed from the unions in the present disclosure provide advantages over lap joints of conventional trailers in that the butt joint unions are easier to assemble, may be stronger in some instances, and can provide a more aesthetic appearance due to the smooth and flush alignment of the respective inner and outer surfaces across the union. This is distinct from conventional trailers because overlapping joints do not provide flushly aligned surfaces. Furthermore, overlapping lap joints may be compromised (i.e. weakened) in strength at the points where the overlap portion ends.
With continued reference to
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Reference is now made to the manufacture of trailer body 22 with respect to the welding and rolling process to give the trailer body 22 having butt joints in its arcuate profile. As indicated in
In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the sequential formation of trailer body 22 may be critical in some implementations. Namely, the butt joints defining the first union 74 and the second union 76 on forward portion 40 are welded prior to being rolled in rolling assembly 140. This is in contradistinction to a conventional half-round dump trailer manufacturing method. Recall that the conventional manufacturing method first requires for the planar sheets of material to be rolled then welds the arcuate sections together using overlapping lap joints and reinforcing them with a supportive member angle iron extending longitudinally along the length of the conventional trailer.
The butt joint formation method identified hereinabove enables the outer surface 44 and the inner surface 46 of the trailer body 22 to be smooth as indicated in
After the first portion 40 of trailer body 22 has moved through the rolling assembly 140 and given an arcuate profile as indicated in
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The trailer body 22 and the method of formation thereof as discussed hereinabove is not exclusive to the present disclosure. As depicted in
In one implementation, trailer body 200 may include a forward first panel section 202, a forward second panel section 204, a rear third panel section 206, and a rear fourth panel section 208. The trailer body 200 may further include a supportive brace member 60 similar to that depicted herein above. The exploded view in
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Similarly, a rear portion 222 is formed when the rear third panel section 206 and the rear fourth panel section 208 are aligned at their respective third and fourth medial edges 214, 216 to define a second longitudinally extending union 224. On one particular embodiment, the first union 218 and the second union 224 are halfway between the first side 36 and the second side 38 of trailer body 200.
When the forward portion 220 is rigidly formed from the rigid connection of the first and second panel sections, a common trailing edge 226 is defined. Similarly, a complementary leading edge 228 is defined on the rear portion 222 when the third and fourth panel sections are rigidly secured together.
Prior to securing the forward portion 220 to the rear portion 222, each planar portion is rolled to give the trailer body 200 an arcuate profile. The manner in which the forward portion 220 and the rear portion 222 are rolled is similar to that discussed above with reference to
Once the forward portion 220 and the rear portion 222 have been rolled, they may be abutted by aligning the common trailing edge 226 with the common leading edge 228 to create a transversely extending union 231 formed at a butt joint between the forward portion 220 and the rear portion 222. The supportive brace 60 may be welded to the exterior surface of the trailer body as indicated in
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In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.
Moreover, the description and illustration of the preferred embodiment of the disclosure are an example and the disclosure is not limited to the exact details shown or described.
Claims
1. A half-round dump trailer comprising:
- a forward end spaced apart from a rear end defining a longitudinal direction therebetween, a first side opposite a second side defining a transverse direction therebetween;
- a trailer body formed from a plurality of arcuate plates welded together at butt seams collectively defining an outwardly and downwardly facing convex outer surface on the trailer body and defining an inwardly and upwardly facing concave inner surface on the trailer body adapted to retain bulk materials;
- a longitudinally extending lower butt welded seam between transversely adjoining arcuate plates, wherein the bottom butt welded seam extends from the forward end to the rear end and defines a lowermost portion of the concave inner surface on the trailer body; and
- a trolley supporting the trailer body from below adjacent the rear end.
2. The half-round dump trailer of claim 1, wherein the longitudinally extending lower butt welded seam is centered between the first and second sides.
3. The half-round dump trailer of claim 1, further comprising:
- a first arcuate plate extending upwardly and arcuately towards the first side from the bottom butt weld;
- wherein a convex outer surface on the first arcuate plate is continuous across a transition region where the plate transitions in an arcuate manner from generally horizontal adjacent the lower butt weld to generally vertical adjacent an upper terminal end.
4. The half-round dump trailer of claim 3, wherein the convex outer surface is free of any longitudinally aligned external supports attached thereto.
5. The half-round dump trailer of claim 1, further comprising:
- a structurally supportive non-integral overlay member positioned exterior to the convex surface adjacent the lower butt weld; wherein the supportive overlay member is configured to support the trailer bottom when the dump trailer is raised from a lowered first position to a raised second position.
6. The half-round dump trailer of claim 1, further comprising:
- on the trailer body, the outer surface including a first portion near the lower butt weld generally horizontal and parallel to ground when the trailer is in a lowered position, and the outer surface including a second portion near an upper terminal end generally vertical and perpendicular to ground when the trailer is in the lowered position;
- wherein the trailer body is curved between the first portion and the second portion; and
- wherein there is no angled support member extending exterior relative to the outer surface between the first portion and the second portion of the outer surface.
7. A half-round dump trailer comprising:
- a forward end spaced from a rear end defining a longitudinal direction there between, and a first side opposite a second side defining a transverse direction there between;
- a forward half-round dump trailer body portion defining the forward end and a rear half-round dump trailer body portion defining the rear end; and
- wherein the forward half-round dump trailer body portion is formed from a plurality of forward planar panels butt welded together side-by-side at forward longitudinal unions, the butt welded panels adapted to be rolled into an arcuate configuration.
8. The half-round dump trailer of claim 7, further comprising a transversely extending union formed from an abutment joining the forward half-round trailer body portion and the rear half-round trailer body portion.
9. The half-round dump trailer of claim 8, further comprising:
- an external arcuate support member directly connected to an outer surface of the half-round dump trailer and covering the transversely extending union.
10. The half-round dump trailer of claim 9, wherein the transversely extending union is a butt weld defining a flush alignment of the forward half-round trailer body portion, and the rear half-round trailer body portion across the butt weld.
11. The half-round dump trailer of claim 9, further comprising a leading apex on the arcuate support member.
12. The half-round dump trailer of claim 11, further comprising a trailing apex on the arcuate support member opposite the leading apex.
13. The half-round dump trailer of claim 12, wherein the support member only has arcuate edges.
14. The half-round dump trailer of claim 9, wherein the support member is symmetric about the longitudinal axis
15. The half-round dump trailer of claim 7, further comprising:
- wherein the rear half-round dump trailer body portion is formed from a plurality of rear planar panels butt welded together side-by-side at rear longitudinal unions and the butt welded rear planar panels adapted to be rolled into an arcuate configuration;
- wherein the forward longitudinal unions are longitudinally coplanar with the rear longitudinal unions.
16. The half-round dump trailer of claim 7, wherein the forward half-round trailer body portion and the rear body portion collectively define a concave inner surface opposite a convex outer surface, and further comprising a first union between two adjoining butt welded panels; wherein the concave inner surface is flush across the first union between the two_adjoining butt welded panels, further comprising:
- a radius of curvature associated with the concave inner surface, wherein the radius of curvature is equal for the two adjoining panels on opposite sides of the first union.
17. The half-round dump trailer of claim 7, further comprising:
- a longitudinally extending first union formed from a first butt weld connecting a first panel and a third panel;
- a longitudinally extending second union formed from a second butt weld connecting a second panel and the third panel; wherein the third panel is intermediate the first and second panels;
- wherein after rolling the planar forward portion, the first and second unions are above a lowermost region of a convex inner surface defined by the third panel having been rolled.
18. A half-round dump trailer comprising:
- a forward end spaced from a rear end defining a longitudinal direction there between, and a first side opposite a second side defining a transverse direction there between;
- a forward half-round trailer body portion defining the forward end and a rear half-round trailer body portion defining the rear end; wherein the forward half-round trailer body portion is formed from a plurality of forward planar panels butt welded together side-by-side at forward longitudinal unions and adapted to be rolled into an arcuate configuration;
- a transversely extending union formed from an abutment joining the forward half-round trailer body portion and a rear half-round trailer body portion; and
- an external arcuate support member directly connected to an outer surface of the dump trailer and covering the transversely extending union.
19. The half-round dump trailer of claim 18, wherein the transversely extending union is a butt weld defining a flush alignment of the forward half-round trailer body portion, and the rear half-round trailer body portion across the butt weld.
20. The half-round dump trailer of claim 19, further comprising:
- a leading apex on the arcuate support member; and
- a trailing apex on the arcuate support member opposite the leading apex;
- wherein the support member only has arcuate edges and is symmetric about the longitudinal axis.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 13, 2019
Publication Date: Jan 2, 2020
Applicant: MAC TRAILER MANUFACTURING, INC. (Alliance, OH)
Inventor: James A. Maiorana (Hartville, OH)
Application Number: 16/569,717